Quick start guide

Connect your WhatsApp number and send your first message in under 10 minutes.

Prerequisites

• A Meta Business Manager account (business.facebook.com)
• Business verification completed in Meta Business Manager
• A phone number for WhatsApp (can be new or migrated from WhatsApp Business App)

Step 1: Create your workspace

1. Go to relay signup and create an account
2. Enter your workspace name (your business name)
3. You will be redirected to the onboarding page

Step 2: Connect your WhatsApp number

1. Click Connect with WhatsApp on the onboarding page
2. Log in with the Facebook account that owns your Business Manager
3. Select your Business Manager and WhatsApp Business Account (or create a new one)
4. Choose the phone number to connect
5. Complete the verification (OTP via SMS or call)
6. Relay will automatically register the number and subscribe to webhooks

Step 3: Configure your AI agent

1. Go to Agents in the sidebar
2. Click Create agent
3. Set a name, persona, and tone for your agent
4. Optionally link a Knowledge Base collection for grounded answers
5. Save the agent. It will start auto-replying to incoming messages

Phone app coexistence (optional)

During onboarding you can choose to keep the WhatsApp Business App active on your phone alongside the dashboard:

• Coexistence ON: Both the phone app and dashboard work. You can reply from either. However, messages sent from the phone app do not appear in the dashboard inbox.
• Coexistence OFF (default): The phone app stops working for this number. All conversations are managed exclusively through the dashboard.

Step 4: Test it

1. Send a WhatsApp message to your connected number from a different phone
2. Watch it appear in the Inbox
3. If AI is enabled, the agent will auto-reply within seconds
4. Try replying as a human from the inbox to test the handoff

Step 5: Go to production

• Create message templates in the Templates section (required for outbound marketing)
• Upload a Knowledge Base document so your agent gives accurate answers
• Set up campaigns to send bulk template messages
• Upgrade your plan if you need more messages, agents, or KB documents